U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry: ‘We Wasted a Year’ In Fight Against Assad

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks during his news conference at Syrian Donors Conference at the Bayan Palace in Kuwait City January 15, 2014 file photo. Credit: Reuters/Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Pool

Exclusive: Kerry Told Syrian Rebels ‘We Wasted a Year’ In Fight Against Assad -- Josh Rogin, Daily Beast

The international community’s failure to coordinate on aid and weapons for the rebels dramatically set back efforts to topple the regime, the secretary of state told opposition leaders.

In a private meeting with Syrian opposition leaders, Secretary of State John Kerry said he believed the international community “wasted a year” by not working together to help topple strongman Bashar al-Assad.

The various countries trying to help the Free Syrian Army had failed to coordinate their efforts effectively for a long time, Kerry said inside the private meeting last Thursday with Syrian Opposition Coalition president Ahmad Jarba, according to three participants in the meeting. And that lack of coordination had dramatically set back the drive to stop Assad’s rampage and counter the growing terrorism threat.

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My Comment: The Syrian rebels have made repeated requests for more advanced weapons .... Syrian Rebels Seek U.S. Antiaircraft Missiles (Wall Street Journal) .... but as long as they are disorganized they will not receive the aid that they need. It would not surprise me if a year from now (if John Kerry is still around) .... John Kerry will be telling the Syrian rebels that ‘we have wasted two years’ in the fight against Assad.